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Sleepless in Suburbs

Monday 24th June, Story #176/366

By L.C. SchäferPublished 4 days ago 3 min read
Sleepless in Suburbs
Photo by Donny Jiang on Unsplash

He can't sleep. He's only come up to bed because his mother prompted him to. You have work tomorrow. He's almost eighteen and she's still... well... mothering him. It's nearly midnight. You're still a growing lad.

He's been lying in bed for ages, not in the least bit sleepy. He wants to go back downstairs and get a drink, but he hasn't heard her come up yet, and he's got nothing on.

He hears the front door. Oh good, she's letting the cat in. Nigel would only meowww on the doorstep all night, else. Surely now she'll go to bed.

He waits, and waits. At last, his bladder forces him to move. Sighing, he pulls on a pair of bottoms and pads across to the bathroom. He could just get himself a drink of water right here... but something nudges and pecks at him. The house feels eerily quiet.

It's just because Jesse is away at camp, and Dad isn't back 'til tomorrow. That's all.

"Mum? Mum?" he calls out. No reply. Weird.

Probably didn't hear him. He doesn't want to shout any louder, he might wake Leah, his little sister.

He makes his way downstairs. That strange empty feeling persists.

Eddy, the bull terrier, hasn't come barreling towards him. That's it. Eddie never misses a trick, normally. You move a muscle, and he wants to come on an adventure with you. If he hears someone moving about the house in the middle of the night, he startles awake and barks.

Thirst-quenching mission forgotten for the time being, he wanders through to the kitchen. All the lights have been left on.

"Meowwwwww!" Nigel is hollering on the doorstep... so she didn't let him in.

He opens the door for the cat, and steps outside, the gravel harsh on his bare feet. It's dark. The streetlamps are off. He walks to the pavement, thinking she might have brought Eddy out here to pee. Glances up and down the sleepy street- there!

Eddy's standing beside an open van door. His mother's brightly coloured lounge pants are visible even in the dim light. She's hugging somebody. Some guy. Relief they're OK turns to... something else.

What the actual fuck?

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Word count excluding note: 366

Submitted on Monday 24th June at 18.34

*Quick Author's Note*

First, and most importantly:
thank you so much for reading my story! The ha'penny that Vocal will toss in my hat for your eyeballs landing on this humble piece will be well-spent.

If you enjoyed this one, the very best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another!

A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one continues my 176 day streak since 1st January.

Please do consider lending your support to the other creators who are also on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They are putting out excellent content every day!

Rachel Deeming

Gerard DiLeo

Please do leave me a comment: I reciprocate as many as I can. Leaving a comment makes that easier.

Thank you!

Thank you again, most sincerely. Especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and appreciate you very much indeed!
😁

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About the Creator

L.C. Schäfer

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Sometimes writes under S.E.Holz

"I've read books. Well. Chewed books."

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Comments (11)

  • Dana Crandell2 days ago

    Followed the link here from #177. Mom's gonna have some 'splainin' to do.

  • Hannah Moore3 days ago

    I really mirrored that - relief she was ok and then...

  • Ewww, she a nasty woman! I hope Eddy bites her. Fingers crossed!

  • Caroline Craven4 days ago

    Oh no. I thought something quite awful had happened… and it has, just not the bloodbath I was expecting! This was fab.

  • Mark Gagnon4 days ago

    Now that's a twist I wasn't expecting!

  • John Cox4 days ago

    Go to bad, damn’t! Mama wants a little action.

  • I thought this was going to go somewhere way else. Then I was relieved, and then shocked! I was really with the character on this one. Now I need more!

  • Sweileh 8884 days ago

    Thank you for the interesting and delicious content. Follow my story now.

  • I was thinking similarly to Gabriela where they were going to be dead. Very interesting twist here!

  • Oh that was unexpected. I actually thought she was dead.. because of all the eerieness of the place and all. At least she has a reason for the lights being left on, but still.. cheating. wow! Great stuff!

  • First para, nice twisting about mothers 😁😁😁. At the middle freezy! Nice job LC. Liked it!!!

L.C. SchäferWritten by L.C. Schäfer

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